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Comics and Books

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What to Read: Venus Rises: Exordium # 1&2

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by Benjamin Shapiro, Editor

I am not a huge comic book nerd. Never really got into them, honestly. I couldn’t tell you what is currently going on in the DC or Marvel universes and don’t know what superheroes are up to what at the moment. When I do read comics, they tend to be independent titles that feature something different from the normal superheroic hijinx.

That’s why I was excited when GGR was approached by comic creator JG Birdsall to take a look at the first two issues of his new comic series Venus Rises: Exordium. This series takes place in the far future after Earth has become uninhabitable due to disease and climate change. Humans have now colonized Mars and Venus, the former being the home of the new aristocracy and the latter being where the poor reside. This is further complicated by the rise of mega-corporations that control every aspect of life on both planets, making the rich richer and the poor poorer.

The comic opens on the salvage ship Cattywompus, a small vessel owned by the Shirokawa Corporation. Its crew has been tasked with helping a damaged ship in Venusian air space. The action quickly cuts to Mars, where a young man named Hollister is preparing for the meeting of his life. It is his chance to, as he says, “get a ticket off of this rock.”

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To say much more would be to the comic’s detriment, as I was surprised at the direction it took after this initial set up. Let’s just say that things go awry and we are thrown into a world of intrigue and sci-fi awesomeness that I am excited to revisit when more issues are released.

The world-building on display here is very well thought out. There is a reason for everything and I never found myself asking why while I read. The world that Mr. Birdsall has created feels lived in, far superior to many of the more superficial attempts at comic book sci-fi I have come across. While he doesn’t hold our hands through this tour of his imagination, enough clues are dropped here and there to keep us, the audience, engaged.

The art style varies wildly between the first and second issues. The first issue reminded me of the old Liquid Television short Aeon Flux. It was unique and fit the tone of the comic well. Issue two changed that art-style to a grittier and more realistic one, and the comics don’t suffer one bit for that change.

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As I said, if you are looking for something outside of the superhero norm, this comic is for you. If you are a fan of independent comic artists, this is for you. If you love sci-fi, this is for you. I truly look forward to what Mr. Birdsall and crew have coming down the pipeline.

You can purchase the comics here: